Haggai 1:1-2:23, Revelation 11:1-19, Psalms 139:1-24, Proverbs 30:15-16
Today is the 20th day of December the fourth Sunday in the season of Advent and the beginning of Christmas week. So, here we are. And it’s a joy to be here with you in fellowship and move through this week together. And even though we have travel maybe and festivities and just and trying to figure it all out, we have each other and we move through Christmas week together and celebrate together. And, so, let’s dive into our reading for today. And it’s become a custom that we’re gonna read a book a day. That’s not like all across the board true but that’s kinda how it feels as the year speeds up at the end and move through the minor prophets. And we’ll be reading a complete book of the minor prophets and the tenth of the minor prophets. And by the way, there’s only 12. So, we’re right at the end. And the book that we’ll read today in its entirety is the book of Haggai.
Introduction to the book of Haggai:
And like I mentioned many times, like these, the minor prophets, we don’t have a lot of biography to go on. There’s some traditions and we’ve mentioned those, but we don’t exactly know who these people were or where they were in society. And, so, reconstruction kind of happens based on the text and the time. And, so, we know that Haggai was among the first to return from the Babylonian exile. So to kind of put this in perspective, we have Jeremiah prophesying, right? “Behold I know the plans that I have for you.” And we talked about all that. And he’s sending a letter to the people who are in exile telling them to “settle down, prosper. Prosper where you are. Even if you don’t want to be there, prosper. Thrive where you are because I have plans and they’re gonna take 70 years. So, a generations gonna go by and then I’m gonna begin bringing people back.” Well, Haggai is on the other side of that and it seems like he’s the first…one of the first wave of people to return to Jerusalem from the Babylonian exile. So, right there that makes him compelling since we spent so much…so much time in exile because the Bible spends so much time on it. We also know that Haggai must’ve had access to people in power because it’s indicated in the…in the text itself that his message was to be delivered to Zerubbabel, which is a name that we should recognize. He was the governor of Judah and we learned about him when we were reading the book of Ezra in the book of Nehemiah. And…and also this message from Haggai was to be given to Joshua, the high priest. So, he had access to people who had authority, both a spiritual authority as well as civil authority. And Haggai’s message is generally to get the people moving. And to begin to see why, we just have to add some time, we have to add some dates. So, Babylon conquered Jerusalem. We went through all of that in the Scriptures, lead Jerusalem’s people into exile. This happened around 586 B.C. Babylon then was conquered by the Persian Empire in 539 B.C. And later, subsequently under the Persian king Cyrus the first of the exiles began to return to Jerusalem under Zerubbabel’s leadership. This happened around 538 B.C. Okay. So, Haggai’s message, the one that we’re about to read comes 18 years later, 18 years after the first wave of exiles has come back, around 520 B.C. Actually in 520 B.C. Actually, Haggai’s prophecies are…are…are actually dated…maybe most precisely dated utterances in all of the Bible. August 29th through December 18th 520 B.C. Okay. So, let’s like pause our timeline for a second and remember when the temple was built. Remember when Solomon built that first temple and we were at the apex of ancient Israel’s civilization? Well, the temple was to be the center, the heart, the center of society, the centerpiece of the culture. Well, now these exiles have come back, and they have permission to restore the centerpiece of their culture, but 18 years have gone by and the temple remained incomplete. The people and rebuilt their own lives, rebuilt their own homes. They began their culture, but the centerpiece was missing. And, so, Haggai, his message is essentially “we gotta get moving here. God has some things to do and God has some things to say.” And, so, with that we’ll move into the two-chapter book of Haggai and we will read from the New English Translation this week.
Prayer:
Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for all of the nuances and complexions that it brings out in us as we meditate upon it. We are grateful for the Psalm today that reminds us once again there is no where we can go that You are not, and that brings profound comfort because we can never again say where are You. You are here wherever we are. You are everywhere. We cannot flee from Your Spirit - in heaven, in the grave, on the far side of the earth - no matter where we go You are with us, which means You have been with us every step of the way through this crazy year. And as we move forward into this week celebrating Your arrival, Your Advent, we are again reminded You will never leave us, You will never forsake us. And we need that encouragement now as much as we have ever needed it at any point in our lives. And, so, we rest in that, we relax in that, we lean back into it and find a cozy place in the fact that we will never be away from You. You will always be here, and You have come for us, which is what Christmas reminds us of, which is what it represents, that Your arrived, that You came in person to make things right again. And, so, help us to lean back and relax and then lean into that as we move forward, we pray. In the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.
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And then of course, you know, the things that are going on right now are related to the holiday season, the Christmas season because it’s just days away. Like we’re less than a week. I mean a week from now Christmas will be over. It just comes and goes doesn’t it? But isn’t it the buildup? Isn’t it the Advent season, the season of longing, that desire for Christ’s arrival, the hope of the world? Like isn’t that the buildup? And then it happens and then it’s over. And, so, this is the week to really press in and enjoy and really experience the story that’s going on underneath it all, which is the story of the arrival of the Savior of the world. And, so, let’s press into that.
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And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.
Community Prayer and Praise:
Oh Lord as I sit at your feet with your hand on my head teach me, guide me, show me how to let the things of this world drift away. One by one I see them leave. I physically cough out any anxiety, any pain, any held on hurt. Lord you are my healer. Breathe into me your breath of life. As I breathe in and expand my lungs I slowly exhale with another deep breath. I hold you in Lord as I do not want to let go. One more deep breath. This breath is feeding every healthy cell in my body as I exhale you Holy Spirit, I ask that you run out of this temple my body all of my pain, all of my unhealthy cells. I see them under your authority Lord marching out of me. Thank you, Lord for making me whole, for making me strong, for living in me. Where you dwell, all things are possible in Jesus’ name I pray. This is joyful J sending my love your way.
Hi DAB family Tony from Germany for a praise report. And I just want to thank everyone for prayers on this whole semester of mine. It’s been very challenging. You know that I lost my mom in April and my dad in October and health problems and it’s like I…I really feel like the Lord was telling me I’ve been in the wilderness. But, you know, that’s formation, right? That’s…I’m studying ministry, and that’s part of our formation, you know, what can God teach us. And of interest as I was reading in my one class was all on the profits where the people were in exile, And, so, it’s like I journeyed with them. But it feels as though I came out maybe of it and you know when you are coming out of a wilder…wilderness when…which is the Lord trying to get us to see things in a new way or to have a new attitude or new approach and then He shows that we’ve arrived at what He’s been trying to teach us. And…and usually, it’s by blessings. It’s so amazing because this is grad school and all of my…everything I do for assignments and write exams are all essays and papers. And my last three I got 100 in each, which is like unheard of. Like how do you…how does that happen? But I felt that was the Lord just showing, “well done”, you know because just because it’s about faith and obedience. And believe me I have failed too. But I wanted to just to thank you and I hope this serves to bless you and I am remembering you guys all in prayers. God bless.
Hey DAB fans this is me Carter my mom Jennifer. We just wanted to say we been wanting to pray for our uncle. He isn’t right with the Lord and we just want him to be right with him. Please pray. Thank you for joining together with us and believing in his salvation. We come together each morning and pray with you guys. We love you guys and appreciate all…
Hi this is AFE calling in for four MA. Just I…I just stopped midway into the prayers just to call in a prayer for…for Byron who is asking for prayers for his son Nehemiah and really just wanting to bring his concerns about treatment that insurance would cover and just asking God for a way through. And just praying with them that just…that, you know, praying with him that, you know, trusting that his decision to go forth with…with this treatment is one that God will just justify by showing a means and showing a solution even though he doesn’t know how it will all happen. I’m just praying that these treatments will be just beneficial Lord and that Nehemiah would just be able to take advantage and just…just grow, just grow through this. Also praying for…I…I forget the man’s name now, but he was asking for prayer for his…his mom, Catherine who’s in the hospital in New Jersey from Covid and for his dad as well, just talking about some of his mom’s fears and her worries. And we just pray that God you just give her comfort, you give her rest Lord you let her trust in you, that Lord though she lay down at night to sleep Lord she will rise in the morning, and Lord that this…this ailment, this Covid, this disease will be behind her Lord as she is able to give a testimony and testify to Your goodness and Your glory. All these we pray in Jesus mighty name. Amen.